Of all the great stories from FIFA World Cup 2026 so far — the Tartan Army, Viking Row, Lionel Messi — who knew that the best soccer story would be the national team of Cape Verde?
Sorry, the country officially changed its name to the Portuguese Cabo Verde, pronunced Cahbo Verday, in 2013. But worry not. The English Cape Verde still works, according to Joe DaMoura, executive director of the Cape Verdean Museum in Pawtucket.
Cheered on by natives and first and second generation Cape Verdean-Americans in places like Providence, Pawtucket and Central Falls in Rhode Island, and Fall River, New Bedford and Brockton in Massachusetts, Cape Verde stunned the soccer establishment by qualifying for their first World Cup, and then by snaring a spot in the 32-team knockout round — the smallest nation in the 96-year-history of the spectacle to do so.
The Blue Sharks, as they are called, will play the reigning World Cup champion, Argentina, and their incomparable superstar Messi Friday night in Miami. Can you say Miracle on Grass?
Cape Verde is not exactly an incubator of five-star soccer talent. This tiny archipelago off the west coast of Africa, is home to 500,000 souls, or about half the population of Rhode Island. Yes, futebol is the national game, but Cape Verde is never mentioned in the same paragraph as traditional powers such as Argentina, Spain, France, Germany, Brazil, England, Mexico and Uruguay.
Cape Verde doesn’t have a chance, right? Well, ask Spain. The defending European champion left the pitch after a scoreless draw with Cape Verde. Or Uruguay, a former World Cup champion — okay, it was in 1950 — after their 2-2 draw. Or Saudi Arabia, a seven-time World Cup participant, after its 0-0 draw with the Blue Sharks.
Yes, Cape Verde has a chance. Tiny, like the nation, but still a chance. That’s why they play the games, right? Just ask European power Germany, which lost to Paraguay, 4-3 on penalty kicks, in the Round of 32 on Monday.
This success might be the best thing that has happened to Cape Verde since it gained its independence from Portugal on July 5, 1975. DaMoura and I talked about the significance of this World Cup run to Cape Verdeans everywhere.
“I think I speak for all of us when I say this is just the most exciting time. We knew it was coming, and now it’s finally materialized,” he said.
This team relies heavily on players of Cape Verdean heritage: 15 of the 26 men on the roster were born elsewhere. Portugal, France, Netherlands, Ireland, even the United States. But when the mother country called, they responded.
Many honed their skills elsewhere as well. Vozinha, the goalkeeper, has played for clubs in Cyprus and Moldova, The Wall Street Journal reported this week. He started playing professionally when he was 25 and is still making saves 15 years later. He stopped seven shots by Spain, boosting his Instagram follower total to 17.4 million from 500,000, according to Al Jazeera. For context, Tom Brady and NBA star Victor Wembanyama fall short of those numbers.
Hélio Varela, an instant hero after scoring the game-tying goal against Uruguay, has suited up for Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel. He was born in Portugal, 2,000 miles north of Cape Verde, and the archipelago’s former colonial overseer.
Defender Roberto “Pico” Lopes, son of a Cape Verdean father, was born in Ireland, worked for a Dublin bank and played for the Shamrock Rovers. He initially ignored an appeal from the Cape Verde soccer hierarchy for one simple reason: He could not read Portuguese, Robert O’Connell of The Wall Street Journal wrote. That was about eight years ago.
The fact that the Blue Sharks roster has so many immigrants is perfect because Cape Verde, in a way, is a nation of immigrants. The Portuguese were the first European colonists to arrive in the 15th century, and there is no evidence of human life on the islands before then, according to the Cape Verdean Museum. Immigrants came and went during the slave trade and the whaling era.
“Cape Verde is important in world history. Cape Verdeans were the first Africans to voluntarily emigrate to the United States,” DaMoura stated. The museum is mounting an exhibit on 250 years of Cape Verdean history in the U.S. It is also looking for members.
DaMoura arrived here as a 6-year-old in 1980. Until then he knew only soccer, but soon learned of baseball, basketball, football and other sports. He earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Rhode Island and took graduate courses at Brown. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1998.
But Cape Verde’s World Cup saga also comes with some international and local controversy. Ryan Mendes, the all-time leader in goals and appearances, is accused of sexually assaulting a Brazilian translator while the team was competing in New Zealand last year. Authorities are investigating. And gun violence marred the celebration in Brockton after the Saudi Arabia game last Saturday. Four people were shot and 75 arrested. The city has imposed a 10 p.m. curfew after the Argentina game Friday. The flip side is that about 8,000 Cape Verde fans watched their team on the giant screen at the Providence Fan Zone and at other watch parties throughout the region without incident. Rhode Island is home to between 19,000 and 26,000 Cape Verdeans, the second largest concentration in the U.S. behind Massachusetts. Brockton has 20,000 Cepe Verdeans.
Cape Verde is not immune to the controversy that celebrity status can attract, DaMoura suggested, and violence occurs elsewhere as well.
“The focus is on the goal we’re trying to reach and the history we are making right now,” he said. “The goal is to continue to show the world who we are... to give everything we have and to take advantage of the opportunity.”
Cape Verdeans around here are showing their pride. Last week, two housekeepers arrived for work on the East Side of Providence — one wore a Cape Verde soccer jersey, and her “teammate”, a most pleasant 70-something woman, went all in with a Cape Verde jersey, soccer shorts and soccer socks pulled up almost to her knees (she left shin guards and cleats at home). The pair cleaned house that day with the enthusiasm of subs eager for a chance to sprint on to the pitch and play for their beloved Cape Verde. Or, Cabo Verde.
